Identify with Jesus
Matthew 10: 24 – 33
Introduction
A
couple of years ago, I was with Dr. Jim Denison in a retreat setting. The retreat was for Texas Baptist pastors,
and Jim Denison was our speaker. He gave
several presentations about the beliefs of what he calls “Radical Islam” and
the ways Islam is growing in the United States.
It
is remarkable that Islam is growing in the United States faster than
Christianity is growing. But, that is
not the case in the rest of the world.
Outside the United States, there is a Christian Awakening taking place. Denison cites statistics from David Barrett’s
World Christian Encyclopedia to tell
us approximately 82,000 people become Christians every day around the
world. However, only 6,000 of those
decisions take place in North America and Europe COMBINED.[1]
We
even see a growth of Christianity among the Muslim nations, even in places like
Iran. Some groups estimate there are as
many as 350,000 Christians worshipping illegally in Iran. The Iranian government spies on Christians
through their cell phones. When the
government finds a place of Christian worship, they break in and confiscate
their Bibles. Individual Christian men
and women are harassed and persecuted by their government. Yet, the Christian church continues to grow.[2]
While
Christianity is exploding around the world, the fastest growing religious group
in the United States is the group that claims to be “unaffiliated,” or “spiritual
but not religious.”[3]
The
Christian church in the United States is getting left behind. And, it makes me wonder why. I suspect one of the biggest problems we face
as Christians in the United States is the fact that it is completely “safe” to
be a Christian in our country. On one
hand, history shows us that Christianity has grown the fastest when Christians
faced hostility and persecution for their beliefs. When Christians are not persecuted for their
beliefs, the church usually becomes complacent and outright lazy about sharing
the Gospel with others. On the other
hand, our experience of Christian faith in the United States does not exactly
match what Jesus told his original followers they could expect to experience.
Matthew 10: 24 – 33.
24 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
26 "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
(NIV)
Jesus
spoke these words to his twelve disciples right before he sent them out on
their mission to the “lost sheep of Israel.”
Jesus gathered his diverse group of disciples—some were fishermen, one
was a tax collector, one was a Zealot, and one was a traitor. He gave them authority to cast out evil (or
unclean) spirits, to heal all sorts of illnesses, and to preach a short
sermon—“The Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
But, they were only to do this mission work inside the boundaries of
Israel. Their mission to the Gentiles
had to wait until after the crucifixion and resurrection. Then, they were to “make disciples of all
nations.”
Student and Teacher
Verse
24 contains a rather obvious truth.
Students cannot learn more than their teachers are capable of
teaching. But, there are a couple of surprises
in Jesus’ parable.
First,
the word translated “student” in the New International Version is actually the
Greek word for “disciple.” Since Jesus
addressed these words to his original twelve disciples, we ought to recognize
this as a personal instruction. The
disciples would never exceed Jesus. The
very best they could hope for is to imitate Jesus and to become like Jesus in
his relationship with and understanding of God the Father.
Second,
Jesus surprises us by not talking about a traditional understanding of
discipleship. It is true that we as
disciples will never be better than Jesus in our ethics or our relationship
with God. It is also true that we should
not expect to be treated better by the world than Jesus was treated by the
world.
Of
course, at this point in the Gospel, Jesus has not yet experienced physical
suffering. He has been despised and
rejected by the Jewish religious leaders.
But, Jesus has not been arrested and beaten and crucified. The disciples will have to learn that as it plays
out in real time. But, we know what lies
ahead.
According
to Jesus, discipleship brings unavoidable suffering. The world will be just as hostile to the
Gospel of Jesus as it was to Jesus himself.
The people who accepted Jesus will accept the preaching of the
Gospel. The people who opposed Jesus
will also oppose the preaching of the Gospel.
It
is important to read Jesus’ words about suffering in context of what Jesus has
said previously. Jesus never told his
followers to seek out persecution. In fact,
it is just the opposite.
In Matthew 10:
23, Jesus told his disciples, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to
another…”
In Matthew 10: 16, Jesus
commanded his followers to be “as shrewd (or wise) as snakes and as innocent as
doves.”
We
are to be wise enough to avoid suffering.
However, we are to be courageous enough to endure suffering which is
unavoidable. We will have the strength
to endure, because Jesus has already been through the same kind of suffering
and promises to give us his presence to sustain us.
Comforting Words
If
persecution were the only thing Jesus promised his disciples, we probably would
not be here today. Peter, James and John
would not have given their lives for the Gospel and preached the Kingdom of God
to all nations without a hope of something better than persecution. And, Jesus gave them two reasons to hope.
First,
Jesus told them not to fear people.
People can hurt you physically and emotionally; but people cannot hurt
you spiritually. Only God has power over
your soul. Jesus’ message to his
original disciples and to us today is that we should fear God more than we fear
people. It is true that other people can
kill you, but that is all they can do.
Once you are dead, they are through.
But, God is not through after death.
It
is natural and normal to fear death.
Death is the worst thing that can happen to your body. But, life is more than your body. There is something that happens to every
person after death. After death, we face
the judgment of God. And, God cannot be
persuaded by our words or bribed with our money.
Second,
Jesus promised that God is concerned about our sufferings. Of course, God is more than simply
concerned. God also promises to be
present with us, no matter how difficult life may be.
This
is the meaning of Jesus’ words about sparrows.
The sparrow was the cheapest source of food in the ancient world. A person could purchase two sparrows for one
penny. On one hand, God is concerned
with the life of the sparrow. On the
other hand, God thinks you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Matthew 10: 29 – 31, “Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet
not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your
Father. And even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. So don’t be
afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
I
have heard some people use this passage to defend their belief that God causes
everything to happen—including the death of something as insignificant as a
sparrow. However, that does not seem to
fit what Jesus is saying. If that is the
point, then we have to say God is the source of our suffering—even when we
suffer as a result of preaching the Gospel.
God kills sparrows. Therefore,
God kills faithful Christians.
The
words “the will of” do not appear in the Greek text of Matthew 10: 29. The New American Standard Bible claims to be
a literal translation of the Greek and does not have these words. Rather, it translates, “Yet not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” This translation seems to refer to God’s care
and God’s concern—perhaps even God’s presence.
That
fits better with what Jesus says about the hairs on our heads. God cares about every little concern in your
life. He even knows how many hairs you
have. If God cares for sparrows, and God
cares enough to count the hairs on your head, then God is concerned with the
suffering and pain you experience in your life.
But, even more than concern, God promises to be with you—in whatever
circumstances you face.
Heavenly Implications
If
God is concerned about our earthly lives, we need to realize that the way we
live today has eternal implications.
Your present life on earth affects your future life in Heaven. Jesus explains this by giving us a promise
and a warning. If you acknowledge Jesus
on earth, Jesus will acknowledge you in Heaven.
If you deny Jesus on earth, Jesus will deny you in Heaven.
To
acknowledge Jesus is to believe the message of the Gospel. In the Person of Jesus, God was fulfilling
his promises to Israel. Jesus is the
promised Messiah—the son of Abraham, the son of David, the Son of God. Jesus gave his life as the perfect and final
sacrifice for our sins. Jesus rose again
to promise us that life does not end in a grave. All who believe in Jesus will live a new
life—abundant life on earth and eternal life in Heaven.
To
acknowledge Jesus is to become a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is a student who learns from a
master-teacher. Disciples will never
exceed the knowledge of their masters, but disciples will do everything in
their power to imitate the ethics and lifestyle of their master.
To
acknowledge Jesus is to answer the call Jesus gave to his original
disciples. In Matthew 4: 19, Jesus
encountered four fishermen on the Lake of Galilee. Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will make
you fishers of men.” Discipleship
involves more than simply learning about Jesus.
Discipleship requires each of us to join Jesus in his mission to share
the message of the Kingdom of God with all people.
This
is where we make our biggest mistake as American Christians. We believe Jesus has called us to GO TO
CHURCH.
That’s
the extent of what it means to be a Christian in the United States. We go to church. Some of us go to church for one hour on
Sunday mornings. Some of us are twice as
spiritual, because we go to church for two hours on Sunday mornings (Sunday
School and worship). There are even some
hyper-spiritual people who go to night church on Sunday nights and Wednesday
nights. But that is the extent of our faith. We are proud to be Americans, because we have
the freedom to go to church as much or as little as we want.
Remarkably,
this is not what Jesus says about being his disciple. Jesus calls us to learn about Jesus and to
imitate Jesus’ ethical life and spiritual relationship with God. AND, Jesus calls us to join him in his
mission to the world.
If
we acknowledge Jesus on earth, Jesus will acknowledge us in Heaven. If we deny Jesus on earth, Jesus will deny us
in Heaven. There is no middle ground. If you think going to church is the extent of
what it means to be a Christian, you are searching for a middle ground. You are looking for the smallest amount of
commitment required to get Jesus to acknowledge you in Heaven.
Jesus
requires unwavering loyalty and faith and mission from all his followers. Remember, these words were not spoken to a
group of ordained ministers. These words
were spoken to fishermen, tax collectors, Zealots and even a traitor. Perhaps some of these men became ordained
ministers. But, most of them lived the
rest of their lives faithful to Jesus their Lord and committed to spreading the
love of Jesus and the message of Jesus’ Kingdom.
Conclusion
I think the reason the
Christian church is losing ground in the United States is because we are
complacent, we are lazy, and we have not taken Jesus’ call to mission
seriously. Jesus did not give us a
political challenge which could be won at the ballot box. Jesus did not give us an economic challenge
which can be won by picketing and boycotts.
Jesus gave us a Gospel challenge which can only be won as individual men
and women take seriously the call to share their faith with others.
Imagine that you are the
only Christian person remaining on earth.
Now imagine that you share your faith with me, and I become a
Christian. There are now two Christians
in the world. If you and I both witness
to another person tomorrow, we can have four Christians tomorrow. If each Christian wins one person every
day…How long will it take to win the entire world to Christ? 34 days!
(There are approximately 7,000,000,000 people in the world. If the number of Christians doubled every
day, there would be 8.5 Billion Christians in 34 days.)
I know what you are
thinking. “We can’t do that every
day!” What about every year? We could evangelize the entire world in 34
years!
We could evangelize the
United States in 29 years (307,006,550 population)!
We could evangelize the
state of Texas in 25 years (24,782,302 population)!
We could evangelize
Lufkin in 17 years (35,067 population)!
This is God’s plan for
evangelism. God’s people are to join
Jesus in carrying out his mission to the world.
He didn’t leave it to the preachers and pastors. He left it to the fishermen, the tax
collectors, the students, the teachers, the doctors, the nurses, the
businessmen, the businesswomen. He left
it to us.
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